Surgical pad



March 3, 1953 w. J. AAGESEN SURGICAL PAD Filed Dec. 5, 1951' THEE...

INVENTOR' ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SURGICAL PAD Walter J. Aagesen, Anderson, 1nd. Application December 5, 1951, Serial No. 259,963

2 Claims.

This invention relates to surgical pads or compresses and particularly to a pad or compress adapted for use in connection with the female breast.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple form of sterile pad which may be used by nursing mothers to absorb the overflow or excess milk which discharges from the nipples.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an absorbent pad for use in containing discharges from the breasts or nipples which has a moisture impervious layer exteriorly of the absorbent means to protect articles of clothing against unsightly stain.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple, low-cost pad which may be used in the protection, medication and treatment of cracked nipples and reduce the incidence of infection.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pad which is shaped to accommodate the contour of the breast and which may be used in the standard brassire without discomfort or undue bulkiness.

The present invention was developed to meet the needs of obstetricians, pediatricians, and general practitioners for a simple sterile compress to be used for the above stated purposes. It has been noted that nursing mothers or mothers in immediate post pregnancy before the physician has succeeded in drying up the milk supply, face acute discomfort from such discharges. The usual solution has been to cut up one of the unsterile sanitary napkins now in use or to cut up strips of gauze and place this in the brassire. Such makeshift means is highly dangerous due to the likelihood of infection, and is inconvenient, inefficient, and bulky.

With the above and other objects in view, as will be presently apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly claimed.

In the drawing like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of the compressed, absorbent center without the sterile gauze covering and showing the shaped depression for the nipple,

Figure 2 is a front elevational View, partly broken away, of the compressed absorbent center and showing the moisture impervious outer layer,

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the complete pad as put in use, and

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the complete pad taken on line 4--4 of Figure 3.

In the drawing, the reference numeral l0 designates the compressed, absorbent center which is the base of the pad. The center In is formed of a mat of cotton, paper or cellulose fibers which are highly compressed and shaped into a general cupped contour, as best shown in Figure 4. The compressed center 10 is preferably round, and has a further cup-shaped, smaller depression H formed in the inner face thereof of such size as to accommodate the nipple of the breast.

On the other surface of the compressed center I0 is placed a layer or sheet 12 of moisture-impervious material, such as wax paper, plastic or the like.

It will be noted that the depression I0 does not extend for the full thickness of the pad and no projection appears on the exterior face thereof. This makes it unnecessary to attempt to form the wax sheet or plastic layer which might weaken or rupture the same, destroying its moisture resistance.

The compressed center 10 and sheet l2 are then wrapped in a sheet of sterile gauze I3 which serves to protect the center l0 and layer l2 and hold the pad in assembled relation.

As illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, the impervious layer or sheet 12 is provided with a series of relatively small perforations [4 well spaced laterally of the nipple-receiving cup-shaped depression H and for the purpose of providing breather openings or vent holes which, in view of their position with respect to the depression I I, will permit a limited circulation of air through the absorbent pad I0 and being effective in the production of evaporation in the presence of undue discharge from a nipple and to maintain the pad in a highly sanitary condition.

The entire pad may then be placed in a sealed, sterile envelope, not shown, for merchandising purposes, said envelope being torn away before use.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction and use thereof will at once be apparent, and while there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed, is:

1. A surgical pad of the character described comprising a cup-shaped mat of compressed absorbent fibers, said mat being of uniform thickness and having a relatively small cup-shaped depression formed on the inner face thereof, and a layer of moisture-impervious material on the exterior, convex face of said mat, said layer of moisture-proof impervious material having relatively small vent openings therein disposed laterally of the cup-shaped depression.

2. A surgical pad of the character described including a cup-shaped mat of compressed, absorbent fibers, said mat being of uniform thickness and having a relatively small cup-shaped depression formed on the inner face thereof, a layer of moisture impervious material on the outer face of said mat, and a wrapper of sterile gauze about said mat and said impervious layer, said cup-shaped depression being of less depth 4 than the thickness of said mat, and said layer of moisture-impervious material having relatively small vent openings therein disposed laterally of the cup-shaped depression.

WALTER J. AAGESEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Number Name Date 2,047,522 Schnaittacher July 14, 1936 2,525,910 Kasoff Oct. 17, 1950 

